There was a lot of good and helpful information in this module. Many things to think about. I know all of the things I do will not change tomorrow but I am going to work on it. I like that a growth mindset is about possibilities not just about right and wrong. Effort is important. I am going to think about a growth mindset when I work on improving my program. I will work on not being frustrated with myself? I need to encourage children to continue to try and not get frustrated and give up. We can work ok on this together. I like the idea of choice board.
It is important to following children’s lead when choosing materials. It is okay to keep the same materials out for a weeks if children are still interested. Previously, I have hear about the importance of rotation. I can also add different materials to the same type of thing…like water. Different things added to the water might interest children of different age groups. Being flexible is key. I imagine there will be times when I need to catch myself and encourage open ended play and divergent thinking.
It is important to think about were materials are stored and used so things can be available for children. I need to validate children’s thinking and let them explore. Just because I think a child should use a material in one way, like playdough doesn’t mean I should tell them how to use it. I can ask them not to throw it but I can also allow more freedom. Also, they might want to use other things with the playdough not just the things that are called playdough toys.
One of the big things I am taking away is that it is important for providers to mess around with materials too. I wasn’t taught that messing around was important. I was taught that following directions is important. I was surprised about how much fun I had when I was missing around with a simple item. I want children to learn but I know understand that messing around is a part of learning. And practice makes better not perfect!
I love to read to and with my children and the importance of that was reinforced. I like the list of good choices of books and I am happy that I have many of them. Reading, talking, sharing stories, making up stories. All those communication activities are important to help children learn to read.
I will work on the things in this module a bit at a time. I plan to go back and go through this module again because there was so much information.